"Spices! In jam! This was the jam that made me realize how good homemade preserves could be--and I'm pretty sure it landed me my book deal. You can use any kind of plums. Tart, even under-ripe, plums too puckery to eat out of hand make especially good jams."-Liana Krissoff

Recipe from Sara Foster, chef and author of Sara Foster's Southern Kitchen. "An overabundance of fast-growing yellow squash inspired my sister, Judy, to make these unusually gratifying sweet squash pickles. They can elevate anything from a simple dish of beans and rice to a fried egg sandwich. You can use any kind of summer squash, from sundrops to pattypans to zucchini.

"My family starts clamoring for my Uncle Hoyt Harwell's pickles—a perfect combination of sweet and savory—as soon as summer's heat gives us cucumbers. I put them on sandwiches and in deviled eggs or just eat them out of the jar." —James T. Farmer